I’d been working in London for over 10 years when Amsterdam came calling. I remember coming over for a job interview at Wieden+Kennedy having never been to the city before and having my mind completely blown to bits.

For me it’s the little things as well as the big things. I recall the day before my interview, standing on the side of the Prinsengracht Canal during the spring having a couple of bierjes and basking in the sunlight. I’d not felt that relaxed before an interview in my whole career. It’s a feeling I’ll never forget. And I still get that same feeling today nine years later. It never gets old.

In terms of work, Amsterdam is a global village with an infectiously diverse culture that actively encourages innovation. Amsterdam agencies in general are less inclined towards an obsession with what the industry competition is up to, which can lead to work that breaks convention without being linked to the latest fashionable rhetoric.

Working in the creative industries here is fantastic, and the one thing this city gives you more than anything else is the time to express yourself how you want. Commuting makes you feel like a human being, and your work life balance is like no other. Meaning you can do more with that extra time be that family time, play time, side hustle time or if you’re inclined, more work! Compromises don’t need to be made. It’s all your call!

Desperados, 'Deep House'

Desperados is a beer born from a wild experiment. They brewed beer with Tequila, so we decided to put Tequila in the marketing. 

We teamed up with iconic party producer Elrow and world-renowned DJs Peggy Gou and Artwork, to create ‘DEEP HOUSE’, an epic party in the Y-40 Deep Joy Pool in Venice, the deepest pool in the world, reaching an impressive depth of 42 metres and holding a staggering 4,300 cubic metres of water.

Partygoers wore cutting-edge SeaTREK diving technology to hear the music in high definition and took the party underwater to find their own dance floor. Performing live from an underwater viewing tunnel, award-winning Berlin-based artist Peggy Gou, and London producer and DJ, Artwork, brought their world-class beats to submerged party goers, through a sub aqua sound system.

We followed up by a global video released the next day, reaching international news channels around the world.

Nikon x The Guardian, 'FOUR WEDDINGS'

Earlier this year when the Royal Wedding was taking up the spotlight, we challenged Nikon to turn the focus onto other unions breaking with convention in a documentary called FOUR WEDDINGS. Released the week of the British royal wedding, FOUR WEDDINGS sought to show four very different marriages to celebrate, each breaking with convention.

This extraordinarily-cast piece of work followed the most important days in the lives of lesbian brides who had served in the Iraq war, a terminally ill bride, a royal Indian bride embarking on an arranged marriage, and an ultra-traditional Romanian bride.

The work took the form of a 20-minute documentary across The Guardian’s social channels, and a series of short films on Nikon’s channels, resulting in the most watched documentary of the year on the Guardian.

The film was shot entirely on the Nikon D850. We set out to demonstrate that Nikon's D850 can transform wedding photography into landmark entertainment, inspiring a new perspective on what's possible.

WeTransfer, 'Work in Progress'

Through this series, WeTransfer has emerged as a rare brand that has stepped confidently into the entertainment space, creating content that viewers will actually want to watch.

Pi concepted and created an ongoing music franchise exploring the creative process of the most important artists of our time. From cross-continental collaboration to mental health, no topic is out of bounds as we gain deep access to our protagonists.

Episodes so far have featured Björk, 88 Rising & Lykke Li distributed across YouTube, Facebook, IGTV and Cinema.